According to a report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, some physicians are suggesting that “as many as a third of all women should give birth ‘without a doctor going anywhere near them’.”
President of the Royal College, Anthony Falconer, says:
‘Too many babies are born in the traditional “hospital” setting’.
He added: ‘There is a perception among patients that they still see the hospital birth as the safer option. The use of some of these midwife-led units is not as great as it should be. These places are very safe and appropriate to have babies.’
Dr Falconer said: ‘Roughly a third of women need a doctor, roughly a third need midwives and roughly a third might need both.’
David Richmond, vice president of the RCOG who wrote the report, said that most women could have their babies in a local birthing centre ‘without a doctor going anywhere near them’.
‘Do they need to be in an institution that can do MRI scans and renal transplants and brain surgery? Probably not. So we need to have this network of care where the woman is guided to the right part of the network to receive her care.’
Whether or not these doctor-less births occur in the home or in a “birthing centre” appears to be your call.
Big push for home births: Too many babies are being born in hospital, say doctors [DailyMail]
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